Bytagand the publication "Antoine Vayer, the man who disturbs (again)"
Reading him, one might think that Antoine Vayer is a man of numbers. Listening to him, one understands that he is above all a man of principles. The very principles that, in professional cycling, sometimes seem to be on the verge of extinction. A former coach turned columnist, statistician, editor, digital troublemaker, whistleblower before the term existed, but also a PE teacher and father of five boys, Antoine Vayer is anything but a simple character. Is he divisive? No. It's people who don't understand, he says. A free electron? Yes. But not to look pretty. To stay straight. Because " Not prostituting yourself is still nice. » While the pelotons are still spinning, he continues to dig. The depths. The meaning. And sometimes the grave of a certain kind of cycling. We met him for an exclusive interview and we'll tell you...
By Jeff Tatard – Photos: personal collection A.Vayer/©DR
The coach before the polemicist
When asked when he moved from the field to the stands, the answer is immediate and sharp: " My role has always been to coach. "And to remember thatHe was the first full-time coach hired in professional cycling, a pioneer of 2.0 training, the use of sensors and modern methods.Before becoming a columnist, he was a builder. And perhaps that's what gives his outbursts weight: they come from someone who has seen the inside of the machine.
But very early on, alerting was obvious.. First internally. Then in 1998, when no one would listen anymore. So he spoke. And some still haven't digested it.
Festina: the founding fracture
« 1998 was a relief » The man who saw the Festina team become world number 1 did not hesitate to leave the shipHe could have stayed there. A lawyer then offered to quadruple his salary. He refused. It's not a pose, it's a nature. Freedom, for him, is not negotiable. Neither for money, nor for prestige. Because " The problem isn't me. It's that there aren't enough people like me. »
Some have called him a traitor. He speaks of civic duty. He does what many dream of doing: he says what he thinks, at the cost of everything else.. Loyalty? I don't understand this word, in a corrupt system. "Cheating," he said, "must be killed, not tolerated.
Sport, watts and the absurd
Antoine Vayer is often caricatured as a technician obsessed with wattsHe laughs at it. Those who say that are stupid. They don't read what I write. » Since 1999, he has been creating a new genre: sports data journalism. With tools he himself introduced: heart rate monitors, power meters, analysis methods. Even today, half of the coaches in the peloton use tools he popularized. He doesn't chase accolades. He chases scientific consistency.
But those who reduce him to an Excel spreadsheet should save themselves the effort: he can also write poetry. And, sometimes, he still gets emotional watching a race. As long as the cheating has eased off. Which is, as you will have understood, rare..
The word is sharp, but never empty
On the networks, he cuts. He slices. He stings. But not for fun. I'm not divisive. It's people who are divisive. "The nuance is subtle, but it sums up the man: he doesn't need an audience. He needs to say something. That's all. And if it offends, too bad. He doesn't care." Like Colin Tampon »
He also admits to being too nice at times. He doesn't hit hard enough, often enough. You'd think you were dreaming. He who distributed the scuds and made people grind their teeth even in the corridors of the UCI? But no. He could have gone further.
Intelligence and fire
Antoine Vayer is the rare alliance of science and moralityHe knows the sport from the inside, but looks at it with the eyes of a sociologist. And a citizen. He has faith in intelligence. This is even what disappoints him the most: the lack of height, ethics, and vision among those who lead.
He talks about Peter syndrome among leaders. About journalism that has fallen into line. About cycling that feeds on its own excrement. Yes, he talks like that. But never gratuitously.
And yet, he is not tired. For " denouncing is a great source of energy. "He feeds on his mission. Like a disillusioned knight, but one who does not let go of his sword. Neither the punchlines.
The Lone Cowboy
We think he's alone. He says to himself "por lonesome cowboy » But he has a clan. Anonymous people. Runners who thank him in off. Volunteers from sites like cycling-doping.comHe also has a large family: five boys, a wife in remission from cancer. And days so full that he sometimes passes out from sleep. He's not an idle provocateur. He's an overwhelmed, driven, organized man. The troll, in his case, is a tool, not a profession..
The system does not want to change
He was consulted. In Paris, Lausanne, even on Rue de Varennes. Senior officials. Politicians.. But none of them really wanted to change. Not in a profound way. Not in a selfless way. So he co-founded Change Cycling Now, wrote manifestos, proposed concrete reforms. Nothing has changed. Or very little.
« The cheaters could be eliminated in a few months. But that doesn't interest them.. » There it is. The reformer's admission of failure. And the promise of an intact commitment.
La cancel culture A symptom, not an accident
He says it between two sentences: we should talk about cancel culture. Because it is there, too, in cycling. When a man like him, who cannot be bought or silenced, is dismissed not for his mistakes, but for his truths.
In a sport plagued by silence, free speech becomes suspect. So we don't debate it. We blacklistWe don't refute the numbers. We attack the messenger. The culture of banishment has replaced that of debateAnd as long as cycling prefers communicators to opponents, it will remain sick.
And tomorrow?
What if he came back? What if he accepted an official role? He doubts it. But he doesn't close the door. He has solutions. He has the method. He knows the terrain.What he lacks is the certainty of being heard. And above all: faith in those who are already in place.
So he continues. In his own way. One eye on the watts, the other on the world. One foot in sport, the other in truth. Antoine Vayer is not here to please. He is here to awaken. And if you don't agree, so much the better. We move forward better with a little contradiction. »
Bytagand the publication "Antoine Vayer, the man who disturbs (again)"
